UK band HAAL return with a new single titled “Plate 43 (…Or Standing on the Toes of Giants)”. Fans of the band include Thurston Moore, leading to remixes by JUICE (Ollie Judge of Squid) and Water From Your Eyes.

“Plate 43 (…Or Standing on the Toes of Giants)” also sees the band bring new instrumentation in to the fold, featuring a host of estimable guest musicians including Tom Connolly (of AD 93 signees Quade) on violin, as well as Evo Ethel and Otto Wild on saxophone – both of which are members in the Geoff Barrow-approved no wave ensemble Ex-Agent, alongside HAAL’s vocalist Alfie Hay.

Taking inspiration from a piece of art by Francisco Goya from which the track takes part of it’s title (Plate 43) and ruminations on existentialism, the track sees HAAL expand their dynamic interplay, marrying complex new sounds with their underlying 90s influences (think Dischord and Touch & Go) and the sound of Bristol’s burgeoning avant-garde scene. From dark labyrinthine guitar lines to uncanny sampling (some of which is taken from their namesake – 2001: A Space Odyssey), the track winds and builds into an epiphanic climax of crushing yet uplifting post-rock infused riffing. The final section reduces and concentrates this power down into a rhythmic breakout which sees sax, bass, and guitars dance around industrial rhythms.

Speaking on the single, Hay says “This song began way back in 2019 with a couple of chords when I first began writing music. I let my subconscious drift into an unwitting state with the intention of utilising a creative flow to try and create something that felt fresh and new and the words “Pressure on the Wall” spilled out of my mouth, which then became the mantra that permeates the entire breadth of the tune.

I believe this song could be an ode to creativity itself, an exploration into why humans do things ultimately inconsequential to fill the time, such as creating music or painting a picture or whatever. Trying to compel meaning into something can be a futile endeavour, when the meaning could’ve been the act of simply doing the thing (whatever that might be!) in of itself.”

HAAL 2025 Tour Dates

25th April – The George Tavern, London*
3rd May – Killgrew Inn, Falmouth
10th May – Thekla, Bristol#

* – w/Outlander
# – w/Knives

Order “Plate 43 (…Or Standing on the Toes of Giants)” by HAAL HERE